Being
by Ayndra
Summary: What if Hogwarts School could be a real person? A witch with slightly unusual powers?
1. Awakening

Notes:             

Summary: What if the creators of Hogwarts had created a guardian? Someone who would look after the students and teachers of Hogwarts long after they had gone? And with Voldemort newly risen, what better time to call on this guardian for protection.

Disclaimer: I don't own the world this story is set in and I don't own most of the characters in this story. However I do own all the mistakes, Kaila and anything that might resemble a plot.

Chapter 1: Awakening

I open my eyes to find myself in the headmaster's office. A stern looking witch and an intense looking wizard are stood at the edges of the room; both are looking curiously at me, but in front of me is the headmaster, who merely looks very tired.

"Kaila," He greets me. "I am Professor Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"I remember," I say softly, "What do you wish of me?"

"Voldemort has risen again. I wish you to protect the school from him and his Death Eaters." The others in the room shiver at the sound of the Dark Lord's name.

"Is He here now?"

"No, but I doubt He will stay away for long," The professor sighs. "And I need you to teach the students Defence Against the Dark Arts. There is no one else to teach the students how to protect themselves as everyone is preparing themselves against possible attacks."

"Yes, Professor. When would you like me to begin?"

"Tonight you will be taken to meet all of the professors here, then tomorrow afternoon the students will arrive to begin the school year. I would like you to meet all of them so that you know who is supposed to be here. Lessons will begin the next day."

I nod.

"Now this is Professor McGonagall and Professor Snape. They are the heads of the Gryffindor and Slytherin Houses," Dumbledore turns to Professor McGonagall, but I remain staring at the tall dark Professor Snape. "Could you introduce Kaila to the others please professor?"

The shorter dark haired witch nods and motions for me to follow her. I follow in silence out of the office. As we descend the stairway I hear Snape speak to Dumbledore.

"Are you sure this is wise?"

"I'm very sure Professor. Now if you could pour me a glass of your replenishing draught…"

When we are alone in the corridor below I state. "Professor Snape wears the mark of the Dark Lord." 

She stops to look at me sharply. "How can you tell?"

"I can feel it. I remember what Death Eaters feel like."

The witch looks slightly worried at that. "Professor Dumbledore trusts Severus, he always has," She begins walking again. "He is not someone you need to worry about."

I nod and follow her to the staff room. 

"Everybody, this is Kaila, the human projection of Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall announces to the assembled staff. I go around meeting the professors, shaking the hands and learning the feel of them within the castle. Everybody has a slightly different feel, McGonagall for instance, feels sharp, yet feline. Presumably she's an animagi, as they always feel slightly like the animal that they can change into.

After meeting the other professors I am given a quick tour into the kitchens to meet the house elves before being shown to a small room adjacent to the stairway to Professor Dumbledore's office to sleep. 

Once I'm alone I finally have time to think. I walk over to the oval mirror that hangs above the desk in my room so that I may see what I look like this time. A girl of roughly 18 looks back at me from the mirror, her long brown hair falling messily around her face. I look down from my dark brown eyes to search for a hairbrush in the room. I eventually find a bag of essential toiletries in the wardrobe, next to several robes that I just know will fit me perfectly. I return to the mirror and begin to brush my hair as I reflect on the reason for my being here.

Voldemort rising again didn't really surprise me. Last time I had been called it had been to for the few moments that he was in the school grounds. Dozens of Death Eaters were led by the Dark Lord right through the gates of Hogwarts. They were just beginning their attack on the main doors when Dumbledore had called me. I had immediately apparated before the Dark Lords army, and sent them all to the outer reaches of the Sahara. That was all I was needed for, so Dumbledore undid the spell that had made me, and I ceased to exist.

I pause brushing my hair, and lean closer to the mirror. Scanning my face closely I realise that I recognise myself. _This is what I used to look like. A small smile lights my face as I recall my first incarnation, as the first pupil of Hogwarts._


	2. Reflecting

Notes:             1/ Thank you to Nobody for telling me that it's Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff! 

                        2/ The next chapter should be coming some time soon, but I can't make any promises

                        3/ See Chapter 1 for all disclaimers.

Chapter 2: Reflecting

Many centuries ago, the four greatest wizards of the time got together to build Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. They built Hogwarts as a place where the magically inclined could learn all there was to know about magic away from Muggles. This was so that the young witches and wizards would be able to practise their magic safely, and so that they were safe from persecution from Muggles.

Shortly after the school was completed its creators Godric Gryffindor, Salazaar Slytherin, Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff became very aware of their mortality. They realised that they would not always be there to pick the students they wanted for their houses, so they created the Sorting Hat. They also realised that any spells they used now to protect the school might become ineffective as time passed, or that new spells may be found which would better protect the school. And so they created me.

The concept of me had been devised by Godric Gryffindor and Salazaar Slytherin. They were the two most headstrong of the quartet who had built this great school and wished for their school and their secrets to live long after they had passed away. Together with Rowena Ravenclaw and Helga Hufflepuff they researched the necessary spell to create me and to bind me to whoever might be in control of Hogwarts at the time. I have always been unquestioningly loyal to the head of Hogwarts, because that was they way that my creators wished it to be.

They created me as an eighteen year old girl. They thought that I would find it easier to learn that way. Plus when their students began to arrive I was able to help them settle in. Hogwarts only accepted children of 11, as anybody older was judged to be able to control their magic well enough so long as they hadn't maimed or killed anyone. For many of the new students it was their first time away from home, and having a not-quite-adult around seemed to make the transition easier.

But before the students began arriving the four great wizards and witches taught me everything they knew. And they told me the secrets of the castle. I was shown every nook and cranny of the castle. They showed me the secret rooms that no-one else was to know about. Salazaar had made sure that I was a Parselmouth, and he showed me his Chamber of Secrets and the basilisk he was leaving there to rid the school of any unwanted elements when he was long gone. Rowena Ravenclaw showed me the secret library she had built containing all the rare books that she had collected over her long and eventful life. All these secrets they entrusted to me, but I was unable to reveal them to anyone, only use the information to protect Hogwarts from an outside attack.

And they taught me to do things that they weren't capable of themselves. The castle was an extension of me and they taught me how to control it properly. They taught me how to feel people moving about within the castle, how to distinguish between different people. And Salazaar Slytherin took care to make sure that I knew how to distinguish between a Muggle and a wizard. Together the four of them taught me how to control the movements of the castle. How to open any door from any point on the castle grounds, how to move the staircases to where I wanted them to be and how to move the walls in the dungeons. It was amazing how much I was able to learn each day from my teachers.

I remained as a person at Hogwarts for several years. I sat in on most lessons, never knowing when I might learn something new. And when I wasn't in lessons I was helping Godric, Salazaar, Rowena and Helga with their research. I helped them develop some of the most powerful, and useful spells of the time.

But all good things must come to an end. Godric fell out with Salazaar, and neither would talk to each other, or leave the castle. In order to prevent either of them doing anything drastic Rowena and Helga released me from my human form. I returned to being nothing until the next headmaster of Hogwarts required me.

I was called a few times over the years, but never for any length of time. Calling me took an awful lot of skill and power from the headmaster. Keeping me here also wore on the headmasters, but not too much. It just meant that they were not at their most powerful, something that no great wizard likes to know. I could sustain myself by eating occasionally, and the magic that the school grounds were imbued with provided enough magic for me to be able to perform spells.

I smile wryly at my reflection. That is another reason why I am always loyal to the headmaster of Hogwarts. I need the school to exist and for the levels of magic here to be high, otherwise I can't exist. I finish brushing my hair and change in the large night shirt at the end of my bed before slipping into bed. Tomorrow the students would be arriving. 


End file.
